Bath additives such as bubble bath preparations and inorganic salts (e.g., sodium sulfate, borax, and sodium chloride) are primarily utilized for their various asthetic (e.g., fragrance, etc.) and purported cosmetic or therapeutic functions (e.g., moisturizing effect, soothing effect, etc.). These bath additives are typically developed for adults who are more likely to be attracted to products that exhibit these features. One of the effects of using these additives is that users are more likely to be motivated to prolong the duration of their baths. However, children are not as likely to be as impressed with these types of products as adults are. Therefore, these additives are not likely to have the same motivating effect on children as they have on adults.
Effervescent preparations have been described that contain an acid, a carbonate salt, and other agents that combine with water to produce cosmetic and therapeutic effects. The acid and carbonate salt combine in water to generate effervescent carbon dioxide bubbles. However, as these preparations purport to have a therapeutic effect, they may not be suitable for use with children. Moreover, these preparations dissolve relatively fast, thus decreasing the likelihood that the effervescent phenomena will captivate a child's attention for a prolonged period of time during a bath.
Accordingly, a need exists for effervescent bath compositions that are non-therapeutic, yet slow dissolving so that effervescent bubbles are generated in water over relatively long periods by using relatively small quantities of the compositions.